A British Army colonel has warned that the West has “developed a defeatist tendency” and is on the cusp of handing victory to Hamas. Colonel Richard Kemp has accused Western allies of failing to stand by Israel in its bid to rescue its hostages from the Gaza Strip, in the wake of the US calling for a “temporary” ceasefire.
Since then, the US vetoed a UN motion calling for an “immediate ceasefire”.
The retired British Army officer, who served in Northern Ireland, Bosnia and the Middle East during the First Gulf War, said that a version of the October 7 terror attacks will be repeated if Israel does not successfully destroy Hamas.
He added that Western reticence to support Israel in its ongoing operation in Gaza will signal to the Hamas leadership that the Jewish state will not be permitted to do what is necessary to defeat them.
Writing in the Telegraph, Colonel Kemp said: “If the IDF does not move forward with its plans, Israel knows that it will only be a matter of time before we see another conflict in Gaza, as well as emboldened terrorists in the West Bank and on its northern border. Worse, the terrorists would know that the United States would never allow Israel to truly defeat them.”
His intervention comes after Prince William’s astonishing foray into geopolitics, in which he called for an “end to the fighting as soon as possible”.
In an impassioned plea, the future King said: “I, like so many others, want to see an end to the fighting as soon as possible. There is a desperate need for increased humanitarian support to Gaza. It’s critical that aid gets in and the hostages are released.
“Sometimes it is only when faced with the sheer scale of human suffering that the importance of permanent peace is brought home. Even in the darkest hour, we must not succumb to the counsel of despair.”
In response, Israeli spokesman Eylon Levy said that hostilities would cease once the 134 hostages are released and when Hamas is defeated.
In his statement he said: “Israelis of course want to see an end to the fighting as soon as possible, and that will be possible once the 134 hostages are released, and once the Hamas terror army threatening to repeat the 7 October atrocities is dismantled.
“We appreciate the Prince of Wales’ call for Hamas to free the hostages. We also recall with gratitude his statement from 11 October condemning Hamas’ terror attacks and reaffirming Israel’s right of self-defence against them.”
